Again and Again
by tellmamatobuggeroff
Summary: Nicholas Remuda is after Brennan. He wants her badly. How does Booth stop him? By pretending that he and Brennan are a couple, of course. But will his feelings get in the way of Brennan's protection? And will his nightmares ever stop?
1. Chapter 1

"Why do _you_ have to go Sweets." I whine as we board the plane. Bones, Sweets, Nigel-Murray, Angela, Hodgins, Cam, and I are all going to a forensic convention of sorts in England, and there's only one problem. One of the people that will be there is a psycho that is in love with Bones. How does Cam suggest we solve this problem? Bring me and let Bones and I pretend to be in love. Yeah, great idea, Cam. Only one problem here, I don't _want _to go. Especially not with Sweets here, who's going to spend every second of this trip over-analyzing every move Bones and I make.

"Don't whine Booth. It makes you sound like a child." Bones murmurs, too fascinated with that book she's reading to _really_ scold me. I roll my eyes.

"Why _does_ he have to go! He's not FBI, he's not a squint, _and_ he bugs me." I complain.

"Did you know that-"

"No one cares, Nigel." I snap at Nigel-Murray. Sometimes, he really gets on my nerves.

"Your aggressiveness towards Mr. Nigel-Murray suggests you are upset at me and taking it out on _him_. Why is that? Shouldn't you take it out on me?" Sweets says with an innocent look on his childish face.

"I should, yes. But you can get my badge taken away, and Nigel-Furry _can't_." I say with a smirk.

"Nigel-_Murray_." The person in question reminds me in his obnoxious British accent.

"Whatever. Look, let's just get this week over with and get back to D.C. with as little injuries to my person as possible." I growl.

"I thought you loved going undercover." Bones says, pulling her head out of the pages of the book as we sit down.

"I usually do, but not with these guys. Any of them mess this up and you're toast!" I remind her. She blinks at me, confused.

"I fail to see how Nicholas Remuda could toast me. I do _not_ think there's a toaster that large." She says, looking slightly amused at my 'incompetence'.

"It's an expression, Bones, okay? It _means_ that if we mess this up and that psycho Nicholas-what's-his-face goes after you, someone will be hurt." I say, exasperated. She nods.

"Well, I'm not going to mess up. We've done this before." Bones says confidently.

"I'm not worried about you." I tell her, flipping open my newspaper.

"You two really need to get into character." Sweets says. "It would be bad for you two to be arguing there."

"We know." I say. "Bones and I can get into character without your help Sweets."

"_Why_ are you so snappy, Booth." Cam says, looking entertained.

"Didn't sleep last night." I say shortly, purposely not telling them _why_.

"Why?" Sweets asks, bringing back a memory I would rather forget.

_Bones and I are on a cliff somewhere. The air is dry and the land is nothing but desert. Texas, my mind tells me. I look over at Bones._

"_What are we doing here?" I ask her. She looks at me._

"_What do you mean, Booth? We're here to solve a murder." She says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. _

_I run a hand through my hair. "Right. Uhhh…. What's the date?"_

_She stares at me before slowly saying the date, as if I'm simpleminded. As soon as the date passes her lips I am frozen. I know that date. Know it better than my birthday. It's the day I'm getting surgery to take out the tumor. _

"_But- Bones, no. That can't be right." I say._

"_Why?" She asks. _

"_B-because that means-" that I won't fall in love with you. That I won't get to see how our life might have been, that I won't be able to kiss you, even if it was just a coma-induced dream._

_And like that, I don't love her anymore. I feel nothing but friendly compassion and my mind freezes, because I still have the memory of loving her, still love her, but at the same time…….. I don't. I'm confused and disoriented and Bones looks at me in concern._

"_Booth? You okay? Booth? Bo-"_

"-oth!?" Sweets says, shaking me slightly. I reorient myself.

"Right. What?" I ask, afraid I've missed something.

"You've been staring at me for the past forty-five seconds. Are you okay?" Sweets says.

"Uh……. Yeah, fine. What were we talking about?"

"You had a nightmare?" Sweets prompts. I blink at him.

"Nun ya." I snap, before going back to my paper. Sweets recoils in surprise, but drops the topic.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The plane ride passes with nothing major going on. Angela and Bones talk and I think. What do I think about? How tired I am. I haven't slept well for the past couple of weeks. Why? Don't know. I have nightmares, some the same, some so different I exhaust myself by just thinking about them. My body is so exhausted that halfway through the trip, I am asleep.

_My father is there, examining me. I stand tall before him, trying not to let my fear show. I have had this nightmare more times than I can count. I wait for it to start, the pain he is going to inflict on me, but nothing comes. Instead, his gaze shifts to behind me and I turn slightly, trying not to gag when I see my Bones tied to a wall behind me, bruised and afraid. My breath catches as she whimpers through the gag over her mouth. I turn back to my father and see him raising his brow at me, asking a silent question._

_Will I go help her and risk my own safety? _

_Of course._

_I step towards her, praying that this time will be different. This particular dream has taken this particular turn half the times I have had it. _

_I step towards her, and find the world rushing around me. Instantly I cry out, pleading with God to wake me up, to not make me go through this again. But, He doesn't listen. _

_I'm tied to the wall this time, Bones is blindfolded and chained to a table. _

"_Say you love her Seeley, and I'll stop." My father says calmly, slowly inserting a blade into Bones' outer thigh. I try to. I try to scream it, but my mouth is duct-taped shut and I can't make a sound. Bones seems to be waiting as my father continues to tell me to say it. _

"_It's okay Booth." She gasps through the pain. "I understand." _

_My heart breaks. 'No, Bones. You don't understand. I love you, I just can't say it. I'm gagged.' I try to choke out, but not even a groan comes out. 'Please God, please someone. End this. Please.' I beg. As if he can read my mind, my father raises his eyebrows again. _

"_Very well." He says, and takes out a gun. I try to scream. Try to plead. But nothing works. My mind is panicking, a thousand thoughts racing through my head. The most prominent thoughts being 'no' and 'stop'. _

'_No, don't kill her. No, don't hurt her. Stop hurting her. Stop hurting us. No. Stop. Please.' _

_And then another thought comes to my mind._

'_Hurt me instead.'_

_And the man who walked out on me turns and smiles sadistically. _

"_Too late. You should have offered that ages ago." And a bang fills the air as he pulls the trigger. _

"Booth!" Sweets yells as I jerk awake. I sit up straight, frozen, waiting. Trying to get a feel for where I am. The group is looking at me in concern. I slump back in my seat and run a hand over my face.

"You okay, man?" Hodgins asks, truly concerned.

"Yeah. Course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" I ask, feeling breathless.

"You were murmuring in your sleep." Bones says, her brow furrowed as she bites her bottom lip. I flinch internally as I remember the same voice saying 'I understand' as she was tortured.

"Was I?" I ask, trying to appear not interested while I'm really trying not to cringe as I think of why I may have said.

"Yeah. Just nonsense though. What were you dreaming about?" Sweets asks, slipping into his psychologist tone of voice.

"I forget." I say shortly, aware that he probably doesn't believe me.

"Oh come on, throw me a bone." He pleads.

"Go ask Bones for one." I mutter as I turn to my phone to glance at the time. Nine P.M. "What time did you say we would be there again, Bones?"

"About nine thirty, why?"

"Because it's nine." I say.

"Oh my gosh, this is so exciting!" Angela says, almost squirming in excitement.

"Why?" Bones asks in confusion.

"We get to see you two be undercover!" She says happily.

"So?" Bones asks. Angela stares at her for a moment before sighing.

"Never mind Bren."

* * *

"He's here." Angela murmurs as she looks in the window that shows the lobby of the airport. I sigh in exasperation. I'm too tired to play games.

"Right well, you guys know the drill." I say, stepping forward to Bones and wrapping an arm around her waist. She relaxes into me at once and I cannot help the thrill of her trusting me so thoroughly that rushes through me.

We walk into the airport, chatting about nothing.

"Dr. Brennan!" Nicholas's voice exclaims happily. I have to restrain myself from clenching my jaw and decking him as we turn towards him, my arm still around Bones and her arm still around _my_ waist.

"Hello Dr. Remuda." Bones says, her voice wary. Remuda's eyes are lit up with whatever's flying around his head and I hate him all over again.

"Wonderful to see you again!" He chirps and I can feel my nerves stretch _that_ much closer to snapping at his British accent. "And you must be Agent Booth!" He holds out his hand for me and I shake it with the hand that is not resting on Bones' hip. "Are you two…….?" He asks trailing off.

"We are." I say firmly. Remuda noticeably deflates

"I see." He says shortly. "Well, it was wonderful seeing you again Dr. Brennan, but I'm afraid I must check into my hotel now. Good evening."

"Goodbye." Bones says.

As Remuda walks away, I feel myself clench and look up in time to see his face set in a snarl as he walks out the door, and I know that throughout these seven days, I will not let Bones out of my sight for even a moment.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Yes? No? Maybe? Leave me a review and tell me please! I reeeeaaaalllllly loved playing around with the idea of **_**just**_** Brennan and Booth going undercover, but that's been done before. So, I threw all the gang in except for Sweets and realized halfway through that something was missing. Sweets of course! And so, now you get to be entertained by Booth and Sweets, because some of these chappies are gonna be in Sweets' POV. I'm thinking that there are going to be about eight chapters. They're all going to be longer than this one, though, so don't panic! And, if you have not already, I urge you to go check out my other story, "So Wrong". Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Whoops! Guess I didn't put a disclaimer in the previous chapter. Anyhow……**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bones, the characters, or the places. Or Booth. *sigh***

**So, I'm writing this chappie right now only because I'm home from school. Why? Because I slept funny this morning, woke up, walked around a bit, and then turned my head. What resulted from that? Well, there is now something wrong with my neck and right shoulder that makes it impossible for me to turn my head left or right or up or down without severe pain. Soooooo……… you have my pulled muscles to thank for this chapter! **

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

DAY TWO

~*~*~*~*~

"Up and at 'em FBI!" Angela's singsong voice sings. I sigh, not wanting to wake up.

"Why?" I moan.

"Angela says that you have to go wake up Sweets, because Hodgins says it's very possible that Sweets is dead." Bones' voice informs me. I frown in confusion before sitting up.

"Why might Sweets be dead?" I ask in confusion.

"He's not waking up." Angela says.

"Great." I grumble. "Dead FBI, just what I need." Despite my grumbling, though, I roll out of bed and walk into the main room of mine and Bones' hotel room. Yep, we have to share. Nope, I don't like it. But, that's only because now I have to worry about her hearing me yell at night.

I open the room's door and walk across the hall to where Hodgins and Sweets are and knock. While I wait for Hodgins to open the door, I scowl, so he's intimidated by me. I love messing with the squints. The door swings open and Hodgins lets out a relieved sigh.

"Oh good, I've been worried that he might be dead, even though he's……… you know……… breathing." Hodgins announced. I roll my eyes.

"If he's breathing, he obviously isn't dead, Hodgins." I grumble as I walk into Sweets' room. He's laying completely spread eagle over the whole of the queen size bed, on his stomach. I find that I need to repress a snicker.

"Sweets." I say, poking him firmly in the shoulder. "Sweets!" I say a bit louder, poking him harder. He doesn't even stir. Annoyed now, and really wanting breakfast and a quick trip to the toilet (not in that order), I give in to my more childish side.

"SWEETS! BRENNAN AND BOOTH ARE MAKING OUT IN THE BATHROOM!" I yell as loud as I could. As I hoped he would, he pops up and yells, "I knew it!"

The rest of the group, who I hadn't even heard come to stand at the doorway, bursts into laughter. Sweets freezes, kneeling on his bed in only his boxers, his hair mussed, and his eyes still sleepy. Then, he realizes what happened and his eyes narrow as he turns his gaze on me.

"Not funny, Booth." He mumbles, climbing clumsily out of bed and walking tiredly into the bathroom. We all know he has scars, but I find my eyes drawn to them anyway. They are still there, even after all this time. Sweets turns the sink on and cups water in his hands, throwing the freezing water onto his face twice, and then running his wet hands through his hair before grabbing a towel and toweling off his head. We all watch, amused.

"What?" He grumbles as he walks to his suitcase that is thrown haphazardly on the floor near the end of his bed.

"Well, Sweets," Hodgins says, a grin on his face, "you have stubble." Sweets looks at him in confusion as he goes through his bag, grabbing his clothes for the day and a fresh towel.

"Yes. Why?" Sweets questions.

"Well," I smirk, "twelve year olds don't commonly have stubble." He turns a glare on me as he gets up.

"No one cares, Agent Booth." He grumbles. "I'm going to have a quick shower before breakfast."

We watch in amusement as he scowls his way into the bathroom.

"Sweets is significantly more grumpy in the mornings than he is at night." Bones muses. "You wouldn't call him a wake up person, would you?"

"Morning person, Bones. And no, you wouldn't." I chuckle. "Come on. Let's go get dressed." I say to her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We are sitting at some sort of conference. Or, something that resembles a conference. There's some person from India, an anthropologist, speaking about his country's culture. I'm not the only one on our team who is nodding off, but Bones seems to be oddly awake and entranced. Thankfully, this annoying speaker finishes up his speech and it's time for lunch.

"Dr. Brennan!" A voice that is quickly becoming aggravating calls. I groan internally, and thank god that I have my arm wrapped firmly around Bones. We turn to address Remuda.

"Dr. Remuda." Bones says. "I didn't know you were attending the speech by Dr. Icknils."

"Oh, I did attend. Absolutely fascinating his culture is!" Remuda says quickly, practically devouring Bones with his eyes. Something in my chest snarls to life, and my brain is telling me to just get rid of the man before he can even _think_ about hurting my Bones.

"It was. Um, did you need something, Dr. Remuda?" Bones asks hesitantly. Remuda beams at her, and I find myself wishing I was alone with him in a dark alley so I could wipe the smile off of his face quickly and efficiently.

"Actually, I wanted to know if you would have dinner with me tonight at this very delicious Italian restaurant down the street?" Remuda says eagerly, and that is it. That one sentence has put the stamp on his death certificate.

"Actually, Mr. Remuda, Bones here is having dinner with _me_ tonight. We're going to be very busy every night for the rest of the week as well, sadly." I say, putting what I know is a threatening smirk on my face. Remuda's face instantly darkens, but I can't find it within myself to care. Bones will _not_ be going on a dinner date with this freak, ever.

"Well, then." Remuda says stiffly, not as happy now that I've convinced him Bones and I will be…………. occupied, tonight. "I suppose I will see you at the next speech." And with those words, Remuda is gone.

"Oh, dear." Sweets says, looking slightly afraid.

"What?" I say immediately.

"You've pissed him off, _big_ time, Booth. He's not mentally stable and now he's angry as well. And he's not angry at you either. He's pissed at Brennan. You can see it because he didn't even address Brennan when he said goodbye. He barely even glanced at her." Sweets says, looking pale.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Bones asks. Sweets shoots an annoyed look at her.

"Didn't you hear me? He didn't address you as he usually might, because he's angry at _you _Dr. Brennan." Sweets says firmly. Bones is confused and, as per usual is blunt in her confusion.

"But shouldn't Remuda be angry at Booth? It doesn't make sense for him to be angry at me. I mean, Booth is the one that implied we would be having sexual intercourse every night for the rest of the week." Bones says. I feel my cheeks flush bright red at her words, and try desperately to ignore it.

"Did you not hear me say that Remuda is mentally unstable? He's angry at you Dr. Brennan, even though he _should_ be angry at Agent Booth, yes. He was angry before, and now he's more angry. And every single night, specifically because Agent Booth implied that the two of you would be having………….. sexual relations every night, he will only grow angrier. And he'll grow angrier at _you_ Dr. Brennan. And this will make him dangerous." Sweets finished, his voice grave.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We were all getting ready for bed that night, Bones in the bathroom, me in the _one_ bedroom we shared. She walks out after checking to make sure I am dressed. I can't help but notice that she looks worried.

"Bones." I says softly. She looks up at me, and her lips are pressed together.

"Yeah?" She asks.

"Don't worry about Remuda, I'll deal with him, and I'm not letting you out of my sight for even a minute." I promise firmly. She just looks at me.

"I'm not worried about me." She admits finally. "In theory, he could hurt someone close to me in order to hurt me. He could go after you."

"But, like I said, I'm not leaving you for even a minute, which means we'll be together the whole time. You know karate, and I have a gun. Safety in numbers, Bones. Safety in numbers." I remind her.

"Yes." She says quietly. "I suppose you're right."

"Suppose? No, no, no, Bones, I _am_ right. There isn't any supposing about it. He's not gonna get you, and he's not gonna get me. Ever." I find that I have moved closer to her, and am grasping her chin as I force her to look me in the eyes.

"Okay." She says, and I can see her body loosen as she takes in my words and decides she can trust them. "Okay."

I smile at her and return to my side of the bed, laying down and not knowing that in the morning I would wake up wrapped around Temperance Brennan, holding her firmly against my chest; her back against my chest, her knees outlining mine, her hands holding my arms in place where they are wrapped around her stomach and chest, my nose buried in her hair, breathing her, seeing her, and feeling her.

* * *

**Hope you all liked it! I **_**was**_ **going to end this chapter after Sweets' declaration, but decided not to 'cause I figured you all needed some Booth/Bones love. Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Have I told you guys that you're all amazing? No? Well, you ARE! I cannot believe the reviews I've been getting! Honestly, I expected to be shot down and kicked multiple times. But, I guess you guys are cooler than that! **** Thanks sooooooooo much for reviewing and putting me on author alert and putting this on story alert and favorite-ing this story! Love you all!**

**Oh, and I decided that because I love you all so much, I'd give you some **_**more**_** Bones/Booth love. And I reeeeeeaaaally wanted to write it. Hope I do okay! **

**Boothandbones4ever- *evil laugh* just read on.**

**Disclaimer: Other than the idiot Remuda (spawned from my mind and some nightmares about a mentally unstable person stalking me), I don't own Bones, the characters, or the places. I'd love to own England, though. I've been told I do a beautifully wonderful English accent. Not to brag or anything *smirksandthrowshair***

* * *

Day Three

~*~*~*~*~

I wake up and the first thing I notice is the smell. I am breathing in pure Bones, her unique smell filling my nose and my mind every time I breathe in. The second thing I notice is that my arm is numb. My right arm to be exact. I open my eyes slowly and suck in a surprised gasp. I am spooning Bones tightly, her back pressed firmly against my chest. My right arm is under her and wound across her chest, my left arm is over her and around her waist. Both are hugging her firmly to me. My legs are pressed against hers; my face is pressed against the crook of her neck. That is why the only thing I can smell is her; that is why my arm is numb. And yet, I cannot help but smile widely, even though this situation is slightly uncomfortable. I cannot help but smile because I did not have any nightmares last night and the woman I love is melded to my body. I'm uncomfortable, but I can only hug her tighter and fall back asleep, allowing the comforting darkness to rush over me as I hold her.

~*~*~

When I wake again, I do so to soft snickers and familiar muffled squeals.

"Angela!" I hear Cam admonish. "Be quiet, you're going to wake them!" But she too sounds giddy. I frown and wonder why, and then I realize that I am still wrapped firmly around Bones, pressed against her at every inch. I wait for the mortification and embarrassment that they have found us like this to surface, but it never does. I can only feel safe, comfortable, and happy while holding her like this. Unfortunately, that is short-lived.

"Booth." She mumbles and the entire room silences. There's a soft sight from her, and then she turns around in my arms, wrapping her right arm around my waist and pressing her face against my chest, tangling her legs with my own. I keep my breathing even, keep my eyes closed, desperate for this moment to continue forever. But no such luck, because an instant after Bones presses closer to me, murmuring my name again, a shriek fills the air and we both sit upright, instantly awake. My hand grabs my gun and has it pointing toward the shriek, and before I really even realize what I'm doing I'm out of the bed and poised to shoot. The scream is cut off instantly and everyone freezes. Their eyes are all wide and watching me, no one moving until I relax as I manage to focus my eyes and realize that it is not a threat that has screamed, but an Angela. A scowl rushes over my face.

"Jeez Angela!" I say as I uncock my gun and lower it. "Five years ago, you would have been dead if you'd done that." I snap at her. "Now I don't shoot first and question later, but I could slip." I growled. "Don't _do_ that!"

Her eyes are wide and her hands press against her mouth. "Sorry." She says, lowering her hands slowly.

"You have very good instinctual skills, Agent Booth." Sweets says, grinning widely. I narrow my eyes at him, knowing exactly why he (and everyone else) is grinning so satisfyingly. I open my mouth to ask why, but Bones beats me to it.

"Why do you all look so giddy? And why was Angela screaming in the first place?" Bones asks, raising an eyebrow at them. They all stutter different excuses for the first question, but Angela says nothing, simply grinning at the floor until the room silences and she looks up, realizing we're all waiting for an explanation. I raise my eyebrows at her, and she looks panicked for a moment before blurting out what was probably the first thing that came to mind.

"I saw a-a snake." She blurts out. The instant the words that Angela said register in Bones' brain, she is out of the bed and behind me with a yelp.

"Where?" She demands. "Where's the snake?"

No one else knows about her fear of snakes but me, and they are all staring at her, baffled.

"Shoot it, Booth." She begs. I sigh.

"There's no snake, Bones. Don't worry. I would've seen it. Besides, we're on the ninth floor of this hotel. What'd the snake do, fly up here?" I ask, trying to get her to see rationally. She still hesitates.

"But-"

"No buts. Angela is either drunk, high, or sleep deprived, and she probably was just imagining she saw a snake, okay?" I say calmly. Bones frowns for a moment.

"She did drink a lot last night so, I suppose she probably did just imagine it. Okay." She says, finally coming out from behind me. Still, she skirts quickly around the bed, glancing at it warily as she heads for the bathroom.

"Brennan's afraid of snakes?" Angela says, amazement clouding her voice.

"Yes. Thanks for that, Angela." I grumble. "Glad to see you're awake, Sweets." I say as I walk past them into the kitchen, glad to see Sweets scowl slightly as I do so.

~*~*~*~*~*~

We sit through another _long_ speech, this one about the different Asian cultures. I doze for about five minutes, until Bones elbowes me firmly, waking me up again. I sit up straighter and nod before taking her hand and intertwining it with my own, hating and loving that it felt so natural to do so. Hating and loving that I could easily slip into this role without any real conscious thought.

We exit the auditorium where we had been just as my stomach snarls.

"Want to go for lunch, Bones?" I ask as I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her side flush against my own, playing the couple that we are supposed to be. This is becoming my new favorite way to walk.

"Why not." She says, grinning up at me and I cannot resist leaning down and giving her a brief kiss. We haven't really kissed at all, and that might be weird, because couples in love kiss, and we wouldn't want to blow our cover.

She is unfazed by our sudden kiss, so adept as playing our little game that she can hide all emotions that do not correspond to a couple. The others are not so good at this game and I cast a quick look to wipe the looks of shock off their faces.

"Whatdya say, guys? Fish and chips sound good?" I ask with a grin. They all nod and respond with affirmatives.

"Great." Bones says happily. "Let's go, then!"

We begin to walk out of the auditorium, chatting quietly about nothing really, just Bones and I, able to forget the other people that are following us and having their own little conversations; able to forget that, and still be completely in the game, still be able to play the couple that we aren't.

"That was so boring, Bones." I grumble as we walk, my arm sliding across her back towards myself, touching her arm lightly and then allowing my hand to follow her arm down to her hand where my finger intertwine with hers. She shivers slightly and squeezes my hand lightly.

"Was not, Booth. The way he explained the differentials in burial rituals was fascinating." She says, almost glowing as she recalls the discussion. I cannot help but grin at the excitement in her voice, similar to a little girl's voice who just found out she had gotten a pony for Christmas. "See, the Chinese would take-" But my mouth covers her firmly, and I almost combust with happiness when she kisses me back just a little. I pull away again and grin at her.

"I love you, Bones, but if you explain that to me again I'll be bored to tears." I say with a wide smile, not really realizing what I had said until I saw the group behind me stop, stunned. Bones, of course simply grins at me, and figures that I'm just going deeper undercover.

"Sorry, Booth. I wouldn't make you suffer through that again." She teases, and I am aware of someone watching us, and walking toward us. "And I love you, too." She says with a grin, pecking my lips quickly. We're still grinning at each other when someone clears their throat. My attention is torn from Bones and directed to the man I want to see the least.

"Dr. Remuda." Bones says, her voice sounding surprised. "Hello, how are you?"

"Wonderful, just wonderful." Remuda says, but his eyes are too tight and his smile is too stiff. "I was actually wondering, Dr. Brennan, if you would accompany me to lunch. We could discuss this mornings wonderful speech on the burial rituals."

Remuda's smile is dangerous now, and I realize that he hadn't phrased his invitation to lunch as a question. He _expected_ her to go with him.

"Actually, Dr. Remuda, we're all going to see a little of the country right now, get some lunch and what not. Booth wants to see an England city square." Bones says, flashing a quick smile at me. I grin back.

"Yep. Bones has been here before, and I've always wanted to see modern England, so she's gonna be our tour guide for today." I say. Remuda's grey eyes darken, and his fake smile slips off his face.

"I see. Another time, then." He says, allowing his eyes to slide to me before walking quickly away. I follow him with my eyes and notice that, as he walks away, his fists clench. My stomach turns.

"This guy will not give up." I growl, grabbing Bones' hand and pulling her firmly away from that man, not wanting her to be even a little bit close to him for another second.

* * *

Angela and Bones decide to sleep in Hodgins and Sweets room to have some girl time, which means that Hodgins and Sweets are now spread out on the couch and the floor. Wonderful.

I quickly change into my sleepwear, hating that I'm away from Bones, hating that I broke my promise to never let her be alone. Angela had assured me that she and Bones would be perfectly safe with the door and the window locked. Bones did know karate after all. Still, I don't like it.

I sigh as I settle into the bed, wishing that Bones was here with me. Wishing that I could fall asleep hoping that I would be wrapped around Bones again in the morning. But, not tonight. I fall asleep quickly to the sound of Hodgins' soft snores.

"_No good! You'll never amount to anything!" He screams at me as he slams his feet into my stomach. I try not to cry out, try so hard, and for once, I succeed. I take it all, never making a sound. This only makes him angrier. _

"_What? Nothing to say, you brat? Good-for-nothing little shit, you are. Think you're better than me, huh? Think you're a strong man just 'cause you can take a couple of beatings without making a sound? Well, let's see if your partner's the same. Let's see if she's as strong as you." He sneers at me. And my heart begins to hammer in my chest as words start to escape. _

"_No!" I yell, but the scene is already changing and I'm chained to the wall again, and she's chained to a table. I'm not wearing a gag, but she is blindfolded. _

_He carries a knife, fingering it thoughtfully. _

"_You know, Seeley, I had big plans for you. Thought you were gunna be the next big somebody. But what did you amount to? A nobody! A nothing! But, you can take a couple o' beatings, so you might be pretty tough, right? Wrong." He growls. "So, so wrong." And with that, he slices the knife from Bones' thigh to her knee. She cries out from the burn. _

"_No!" I yell. But, he is rolling now, slicing here, there, up, down. Slicing over slices, hurting her, over and over again. "NO!" I yell again. "Don't hurt her! Hurt me instead, HURT ME INSTEAD!" _

"BOOTH!" A voice yells, and I am jerked out of my own personal hell. My eyes snap open and I stare up at the dark ceiling, breathing heavily, my heart wild, and my eyes wide. My gaze slowly shifts to the right of me and I am stunned to find Hodgins and Sweets looking at me in concern.

"Booth?" Sweets questions softly. "Are you okay?"

Shakily, I nod.

"Think so." I say shortly, slowly pulling myself up, and then turning so my feet touch the ground. I stare for a moment at the wall opposite me, and then place my elbows on my knees and put my head in my hands, breathing out a shaky breath.

"Were you having a nightmare?" Hodgins asks. I flick my gaze up to him with a scowl.

"Of course, what else-" And then there is a crash from the room across from where we are and then a scream. Angela's again, but this time…... this time, I know it's real. I can hear the terror. I grab my gun instantly and am through our room and wrenching the door open in a second. I'm in the hallway then, and hear the elevator start to close. My gaze flashes to there and I freeze when I see Remuda with wide eyes and a psycho grin holding a gagged and bound Bones with a knife to her neck. My heart stops.

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**Review, review, review please! The more reviews, the more inspired to write I am!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Nertooold54- Remuda knew because he's mentally unstable……. he's a stalker. Also, that's a really good idea, about the whole where does Sweets and everyone go thingy. Thanks! **

**Lauriedoriew- thanks! Was this a fast enough update? **

**Thanks to all of you guys that put this on story alert! Love you all!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Bones, Booth would be permanently glued to Brennan. As you can see from past episodes, they are not glued together, so I do not own them, or anything else for that matter. If I owned everything else, Cam and Hodgins…… they would be together. But they're not, so obviously I don't own anything having to do with Bones. **

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Again and Again

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I watch the elevator doors close as I race to stop them. But before I even start running, I know that I won't make it. I snarl a curse as I slam my hand on the door in anger, then whirl around and race to the other side of the hall, where the stairs are.

"Sweets!" I yell as I race past them. "Call the cops! Hodgins! Go make sure Angela's okay! Wake Cam up!"

I run to the stairs and take them two by two, not really knowing how I'm going to know what floor he takes her off of. I decide that I'm just going to have to wing it and check every floor. I open the door to the eight floor, they're not there. None of the other floors, either. I run to the front desk, shirtless, shoeless, and holding a gun.

"FBI." I say to the person. "I need to know where that elevator just went."

The startled bellhop behind the desk stares at me, then types something into the computer.

"According to what the computer says, the elevator stopped at the basement." He says, eyeing my gun warily.

"Damn it. Does the basement have a way outside?"

"Indeed, it's over-"

But I'm already gone, slamming through the doors, knowing that Remuda won't have stayed in the basement. I run down the street to the alley that is to the left of the hotel, that's where he'll be. What I see, though, isn't what I expected. As soon as I round the corner, I see Remuda holding a gun to Bones' head and shoving her into a taxi. Anger rises and I can barely see straight. The taxi takes off and I can't even stop it.

"Damn it!" I yell, then run to where the cops have just arrived. "I need the address of Nicholas Remuda." I snap at the nearest one. He looks startled.

"I don't know who that is." He says, looking wary.

"He's the one that's kidnapped Dr. Brennan." I say, knowing that they won't know who Bones is if I call her that. The cop's eyes widen.

"I can check the database-"

"Great. Do that." I bark. Cam, Hodgins, Sweets, and Angela come running out the front door of the hotel.

"Seeley, what happened to D. Brennan?" Cam asks, looking slightly out of breath. She hands me a shirt that says FBI and Hodgins hands me my socks and shoes. I slip all three on quickly as I explain.

"Remuda got her. He's taken her probably to wherever he lives. He's going to give me the address." I say, pointing at the man who is jogging up to us.

"I got his address. I can take you." The man gasps. I nod and make my way to the man's car, not realizing that everyone is following me until we all get into the small car.

"What are you guys doing?" I exclaim as the man starts up the car and drives down the road.

"If you think I'm just going to wait for Brennan to get back, Booth, you need some help." Angela says with a nod.

"We're like the three musketeers!" Sweets says.

"Except there are _five _of us." Hodgins says pointedly. Sweets frowns.

"Whatever. The point is, you can't go alone, Seeley. It's dangerous." Cam says.

"Cam can come in, Hodgins, too, but Sweets and Angela; you guys are to stay with him." I say, jerking my thumb towards the cop.

"Mark." The cop says. "Mark Jamison."

"Well, Jamison, if he's there, you're gonna need to call backup. Go faster!" I say, frustrated. He reaches over and turns on his sirens, then goes faster.

Within minutes we are at Remuda's residence. It's a little house that has no lights on whatsoever. I examine it frantically, hoping for some lights to be on. _Please, please let her be here._ I am about to give up when I see the faintest glimmer of light from the basement window. My gut drops and I know that he's here.

"He's here." I say. "Call for backup, Jamison."

I open the door and walk to the front door.

"Try to keep quiet." I tell Cam and Hodgins, the latter holding a gun as well as I. We walk quickly and silently to the front door, opening it and moving toward the basement.

Remuda's house is clean, there is no dust on any surface and I know that this means that he is OCD. All of his books are lined up, biggest first, smallest last. His decorations are evenly spaced, maybe five or six inches away from each other. He will hurt her methodically.

We walk slowly down the steps and I freeze as we reach the bottom.

She is tied to a table, blindfolded. He is holding a knife and is slicing it down from her thigh to her knee in a straight line. My breath catches in my throat. This is so familiar. I raise my gun, but before I can shoot, his head lifts and I see the same fury, the same anger, the same crazy that was in my father's eyes and I am thrown back to my dreams from previous times.

_She is gasping, pleading with me to help her. I cannot move, though. I am frozen by something unknown, and I know I will be too late. There is too much blood, there is too much blood. I watch, frozen still, as her eyes dim, as she gasps one last breath. And then her eyes go blank. _

_In this dream, I am the one tied to a table, and she watches. She is pleading with him to hurt her instead of me, and this time he listens. He smiles grotesquely at me. "You'd like that wouldn't you, Seeley. You'd like to watch me show her what a real man is like, wouldn't you." Frantically I yell no, but it's to no avail, I cannot move, cannot do anything but watch as he takes her, as her eyes plead with me to be strong enough to break through my bonds and throw him off of her. But I cannot. _

No. That is the only thought that is running through my head. I cannot watch this again. I cannot watch her eyes fade in death, or in surrender. This ends now. This ends tonight, and I will not have those dreams again and again any longer.

The sharp crack of the gun is satisfying, but I am watching from the outside now. Almost as if I am not me, but an observer. I watch the bullet slam into his forehead, I see his surprised eyes, and I find I do not care as his body slumps and hits the concrete floor of his basement with a sickening thud. This, I know, is one person I will never regret killing. I move towards her, she is shaking in fear, not knowing who fired the gun, not knowing who is coming towards her.

"Just me, Bones." I murmur as I begin to untie her. Instantly, her body relaxes. She sits up and I slip her blindfold off, uncovering her tear stained face and wide, frightened eyes. But they are not blank in death, and they are not dead in surrender. She is bleeding still and I use the blindfold to tie a tourniquet at the top of her thighs, not caring that she is only wearing a t-shirt, one of mine, and her panties. Not caring that my hands brush her thighs. I only know that she needs to be taken care of, because if she dies, I will end, too. She is shaking still, but no longer in fear, just from blood loss and adrenaline. Maybe a little left over fear, I suppose. Someone is handing me bandages, gauze, and I wrap them firmly around the cut part of her leg, several times over. When I am sure that the bleeding is not deadly anymore, I rip off the extra and tuck in the end. I reach for her and pick her up, bridal style. I am aware, now, that there are more of the British police down in the basement with us. They have bagged Remuda's body and are taking it out behind me as I carry Bones up the stairs, her head tucked under my chin. There is an ambulance waiting above, and I settle in while Bones sits on the gurney as we ride to the hospital. She does not need stitches, but they change the bandages after disinfecting the cut. It isn't too deep, just bleeding a lot. They don't make her spend the night in the hospital and I carry her out to the car that Jamison has loaned me for now.

We sit silently in the car, this night has gone by so fast that I really don't know what to say. I am aware that my fists are clenching the steering wheel so hard that my knuckles are white. We stop in front of the hotel and I park, but I still haven't let go of the steering wheel. I am still staring straight ahead, refusing to come to terms with the fact that I could have lost her tonight, as I have so many times in my nightmares.

"Booth?" Comes a soft voice from my left. Bones' hand reaches over and gently clasps my left, pulling it away from the wheel and forcing me to turn to her. Her eyes are worried and she moves closer to me. For once I am grateful that there is not a middle area in this car, that there is just one continuous seat, because it means I can scoot across to her side and pull her into my arms. And I do. I settle her in my lap and hold her tightly to my chest, fighting the tears that have risen in my eyes.

"What just happened has been a continuous nightmare for me." I whisper, giving in and telling her finally. "Sometimes the person hurting you is my father, and I am tied to a wall and have to watch. Sometimes, the person is faceless. Sometimes, it's the gravedigger, or Howard Epps. But always, you either die or give in, and I have to watch." I can see her head rise and her eyes are startled as she meets mine.

"How long have these been going on?" She asks.

I shrug. "It used to be just when we had a really bad case, but lately, almost every night."

She looks stunned.

"I've had dreams like that." She says, looking down. "I hate them."

I nod, then tip her head up.

"It's over, though." I say softly. "Remuda's gone, my old man's dead, Epps is dead. _You're safe_." I say the last sentence in a whisper to myself. She nods, and I cannot resist any longer, cannot hold back the emotions that well to the surface of my mind and my heart. She is here, she is safe, and I love her.

My mouth ghosts over hers, and then I pull back, watching her face. I want her permission for this, I want her to decide. And she does, I can see it in her eyes. She initiates the kiss this time, pressing her mouth feverishly against my own. I respond instantly, desperate to feel that she is okay, desperate to feel _her_.

Her hands run up my chest to my neck, then tangle in my hair as she pulls me against her more. I cannot help the moan that escapes from my throat. My arms wind around her waist and hug her to me gently but firmly, not forcefully, just bindingly. Her tongue runs along my lips and I open my mouth easily, eager to taste her and be surrounded by her. Our tongues meet, and she tastes just like she smells. There is really no word to describe her except for _Bones_. She tastes like nothing, like no one, I have ever tasted before.

She shifts so that she is straddling me, and then gasps and jerks back. I examine her in surprise and notice that her eyes are squeezed shut in pain. I notice then that her straddling me probably is pulling at her cut and pick her up, turning her so that she is sideways. She leans her head on my chest and breathes out slowly.

"Sorry." She mumbles. I snort.

"For what? Being kidnapped by a maniac?" I ask.

"Yes." She mumbles, and I cannot help but smile.

"You should be." I murmur, pressing a kiss against the top of her head and then resting my forehead there. "I was terrified."

"Me too."

"Well, let's get you inside, you need to be laying down and resting." I say softly, aware that she is about to fall asleep. I open the door, and get out with her bridal style in my arms. I make my way through the hotel and into the elevator, pressing the button for our floor, exhausted. I walk down the hall and the rest of the group exits from Angela and Cam's room.

"Oh sweetie!" Angela exclaims.

"Hi Ange." Bones mumbles. Her eyes are closed still, but she is awake.

"I'm going to put her in bed, guys." I say quietly. They all nod and watch as I step into mine and Bones' room, then shut and lock the door behind me. I make my way to the bedroom and set her gently on the bed. Methodically, I strip off my shirt, shoes, socks, and pants, leaving me in just boxers. I slip off the disposable slippers the hospital gave her and the pants as well, leaving her in just my shirt and her panties. She is on her right side, curled up just so. I move so that we are pressed back to chest, my arms wrapped around her like they were before. Was it really just this morning? Or, rather, yesterday morning? The clock says it is now two thirty a.m., so technically, yesterday. I press a gentle kiss to her neck and allow myself to slip into blissful sleep, holding her tightly in my arms and knowing that she is safe and that I will not have to have nightmares again and again if I am forever holding her. So I will, I will hold her forever, because even though we are both scared, we both want it more than we care to admit.

_fin._

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**So……. did you like it? Hate it? Did it go too fast? I know that this chapter is the longest of them all. Anyway, celebration time people! This is the first multichapter story that I've finished! Break out the drinks! Non-alcoholic of course. **

**I've said this a gabillion times, I know, but thanks so much to my reviewers and the people that put this on story alert and what not. You have no idea how widely I've been smiling every time I've checked my email. **

**I think there's going to be a sequel, probably just a one-shot, though!**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**


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